Modern viticulture is becoming increasingly complex, as changing weather patterns, disease pressure, and the need for consistent grape quality require winegrowers to make faster and more precise decisions. Winessense is a smart vineyard management system and vineyard monitoring system designed to help winegrowers understand what is happening in their vineyards using real-time data from vineyard sensors and predictive models.
But before we explain exactly what Winessense does, it is important to understand how it started.
Just like fine wine, Winessense has depth and story.Our decade-long journey has been the foundation of our success, so let’s begin there. All of this is rooted in the passion and dedication of our founders, who poured their hearts into building Winessense.
Our Story: From Passion to Product
The story behind Winessense begins with our core identity as engineers. While one of us had a personal interest in wine, the real spark came from a simple request by a friend.
In 2015, a friend asked us if we could develop a tool that would allow him to monitor his small vineyard remotely while he was away. As engineers, we immediately started searching for a technical solution.
At that time, most vineyard weather stations and farm management systems were limited. Scientific research on weather-driven diseases, grape phenology, and wine style existed, but these insights were rarely available in tools that growers could actually use.During our research we discovered something crucial: vineyard microclimates.
No two vineyards are the same. Every growing season is unique. In fact, conditions can change dramatically within just a few meters. These microclimate differences influence grape development, disease pressure, and ultimately wine style. Yet very few tools measured conditions directly where the vines grow.
This observation became the foundation of Winessense.
From Concept to a Working System
In 2017, two of us decided to formally establish Winessense and start building a practical system that could help modernize viticulture through data-driven insights. Over time the rest of the team joined, and we faced numerous challenges—from simplifying complex data to developing durable vineyard sensors and supporting an expanding customer base.
Today, in 2025, our team consists of 12 full-time employees and 5 external collaborators, serving more than 300 users across 150 vineyards.One of our founders is also a winemaker, meaning everything we build is tested in real vineyards before reaching our users.
“We continuously improve our product, refining it every week and every year.”
Alongside product development, we also share knowledge. Our monthly Serbian-language newsletter reaches more than 1000 professionals in the winegrowing and winemaking industry, helping distribute the latest research and practical vineyard insights. As our database grows, we plan to introduce additional languages for newsletters in the future.
For you, your vineyard, or cellar, it’s not about financial gain. It is more often about sharing your unique story and the story of your wine. Still, you need money to keep going and expanding your reach. Similarly, our focus is not on profit, but on using our passion to make a positive impact on the world. However, we require financial support to continue with our endeavours.
How Winessense Works
Winessense is a cutting-edge smart vineyard management system that goes beyond mere analytics. Our customers affectionately refer to it as a friend in and from their vineyard. And we are quite proud of that.
You can check out what our customers say about Winessense on our YouTube channel. There they share their experiences in their native tongues, which can be translated automatically.
Let’s dive into the details of how Winessense works and what it can do.
This innovative system consists of two main components:
- A network of vineyard sensors installed directly in the canopy
- Cloud-based software and a mobile application
The sensors continuously collect environmental data such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind. This data is transmitted to the cloud, where it is combined with weather forecasts and predictive models.
Unlike traditional weather stations, Winessense sensors are installed inside the vine canopy, usually mounted on trellis posts and powered by solar energy. This allows the system to measure the exact conditions that influence the vines. All collected data is processed in the cloud and displayed in an intuitive mobile application designed specifically for winegrowers, and not for data analysts.
“With Winessense, you can focus on being a winegrower, not a data expert.”
While some users may need more detailed data, we recommend starting with monthly summaries and annual reports. These are your first strategic summaries that are fully auto generated. All the users look forward to receiving them and use them more and more as time progresses.
It’s essential to understand that data becomes more valuable over time. Especially in the context of Winessense and winegrowing. Bear in mind that the focus is to address the needs of winegrowers, aiming at disease management, phenology, and weather’s impact on grape quality. Therefore, both sensors and the software are able to create more and more value over time.
Key Features and Models
As both viticulture and technology evolve, Winessense continues to expand its capabilities as a vineyard management system. At the moment of writing, this is what is currently available:
Vineyard Sensors
- Temperature&Humidity – Sensirion SHT31
- Rain – Pronamic professional rain gauge with 0.2mm resolution
- Wind Speed&Direction – Davis Instruments SKU-6410
Vineyard Models
- Leaf wetness
- Phenology development (BBCH scale)
- Fungal diseases (Downey mildew, Powdery mildew, Botrytis, Black rot and Leaf spot)
- Indices (WI, HI, BEDD)
- Leafhopper* (from 2026)
Additional Features
- 7 days forecast
- Web application on demand
- Historical data
- Heat map visualisation
- Digital field record (with text and images)
- Notifications (weather, disease, phenology)
- Chronology
- Monthly comparative reports
- Annual reports suite (Protection report, Annual summary report, Annual field comparative report)
We are also currently developing an irrigation assistant, which will help growers optimize irrigation decisions based on vine needs and vineyard conditions.
In addition, we are testing European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) forecasting models, which will become available in the coming seasons.
Why Vineyard Microclimates Matter?
One of the core ideas behind Winessense is the importance of vineyard microclimates.
Conditions inside a vineyard canopy can vary significantly within short distances. These differences influence vine growth, disease pressure, and grape ripening.
By monitoring microclimates directly inside the canopy, growers gain a deeper understanding of how their vineyard behaves during the season.
Read our previous blog post 3 Surprising Facts About Microclimates in Vineyards to find more context about microclimate.This is a key concept in precision viticulture, where decisions are based on detailed data rather than general assumptions.
Who Uses Winessense?
When we first introduced Winessense to winegrowers, the reactions were interesting.
Smaller growers often thought that such tools were meant for large wineries with viticulture experts. Larger wineries sometimes believed their processes were already optimized.
In reality, Winessense is used by vineyards of all sizes.
What we discovered is that the main barrier is rarely cost or technology. Instead, many growers hesitate because learning a new tool can feel intimidating.
But once they start using Winessense, many realize that it quickly becomes part of their everyday vineyard management.
What Using Winessense Feels Like:
1. Winessense is like a dishwasher in your kitchen. You can live without one, but once you have it, you wonder how you ever managed without it. It saves time, brings structure, and lets you focus on what really matters—just like Winessense in your vineyard.
2. Winessense is like a smart thermostat in your home. Before it, you guessed. After it, you optimize. It brings comfort, efficiency, and peace of mind—just like Winessense brings to managing your vineyard’s climate and disease risk.
3. Winessense is like a sleep tracker. You’ve always slept, but now you understand how well. It’s not just about doing the work, it’s about doing it better. That’s how Winessense turns grape growing into smart growing.
4. Winessense is like Google Maps while driving. You know the roads, but Maps helps you avoid traffic, save time, and arrive smarter. Winessense helps you avoid risks and navigate the growing season with precision.
5. Winessense is like Spotify’s personalized playlists. You always had music, but now it feels made for you. Winessense does the same—tailoring decisions to your vineyard, not general advice.
6. Winessense is like a weather app with radar and forecasts. You can look out the window, sure—but Winessense shows you what’s coming next, in due time to act.
7. Winessense is like a fitness tracker for your vineyard. It doesn’t grow grapes for you, but it shows you what’s working, where the stress is, and how to improve.
“Winessense is like a Garmin watch for runners. You can run without it, but once you use it, you understand your performance, your limits, and how to improve. That’s what Winessense does for vineyards. ”
Is Winessense Right for Your Vineyard?
If you are still reading this article, chances are that you are curious about how better data could improve your vineyard management.
Our goal here is not to convince you to purchase Winessense immediately. Many of our users actually decide to adopt the system later, once they see how it fits into their workflow.
Instead, our intention is to spark curiosity.What could you achieve with your vines and grapes if you had a deeper understanding of what is happening in your vineyard every day?
The Future of Smart Viticulture
Winessense is more than just a set of sensors and software.
It is a team of passionate engineers and wine enthusiasts working to make data-driven viticulture accessible to winegrowers.
Whether you manage a small family vineyard or a large estate, our goal is simple:
- help you understand your vineyard better
- simplify daily decisions
- reduce disease risk
- support the production of exceptional grapes
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